Changes
by Lady Lacey
Summary: Oneshot. When Angelina came to work at Weasley's Wizard Wheezes after the war, he was thankful for a familiar face to help him cope with each day. He never expected things to change, he never expected to suddenly fall in love with his old friend.


_This was supposed to end up being a humorous story but instead, I got this. Hope you enjoy!_

The first day going back to work after the war was tough. George had been mentally preparing himself for a week to even leave his family home, knowing Fred would not be there when he went back. The absolute silence of the shop was the loudest thing he had ever heard, having grown so accustomed to Fred's voice calling out each time someone walked in. It looked so startlingly _empty _and throughout the day he had caught himself calling Fred's name to come out to the counter several different times.

The second day, Angelina Johnson had walked in with a small, nervous smile as she approached him. He had expected her to ask if he was okay, offer a shoulder to cry on or some other such nonsense but instead, she asked if they were hiring.

"I could use a part time job," she'd explained, "and it looks like you could use some help."

He had hired her on the spot and hadn't regretted it for an instant. She was just what he needed to focus. She was familiar; he didn't have to spend time trying to forge a friendship with someone new. She was dedicated and hard working with a confidence about her that made him think she was capable of doing anything she wanted. She was also bright and had made several suggestions that made him wonder why they hadn't brought her on board to create new products back at Hogwarts. She also had a loud, joyous laugh that often made him break out into a smile and she found the strangest little things hilarious enough to break into a five minute fit of laughter that would leave her gasping to catch her breath and clutching her aching stomach.

George felt as though he was just seeing her for the first time. Back at Hogwarts, she'd just been his teammate, one of his buddies. She'd been their crazed Quidditch captain for a bit, little more than just one of the guys to him. But she was so much more. She had become someone he found himself relying on each day. He wasn't even sure when she had gone from being a part time worker to being there every day, working the same long hours as him. It didn't even feel like work much of the time when she was around, the way she had him filled with endless amusement.

Watching her discover what each product did was especially entertaining. When customers would ask about something and she wasn't sure, her way of finding out was often to test it herself. She had been annoyed the time that this resulted in her skin changing to a new color of the rainbow every five minutes but George hadn't been able to stop laughing. He had a feeling she did this on purpose, knowing full well she could come get him whenever there were product questions yet very rarely doing so.

George wasn't sure when things between them changed. Or maybe it was just things with him, because she was the same old Angelina, really. But it was as if he walked into the store one day after getting lunch and his eyes had been opened. There was Angelina, just straightening some products on the shelf, but she was so much more than that. She was beautiful, with her shiny, dark hair and soft lips and the way her eyes shined when she turned to tell him hello.

He had watched her for a week, trying to discover what had changed about her but it was everything and nothing all at once. When she playfully shoved him now, a little shock of warmth seemed to shoot through his body from the place she had touched and when she smiled, it took a great effort to look elsewhere. Many times he had just barely caught himself from reaching out and running his fingers through her hair or across her cheek, to check if the skin there was as soft as it appeared.

He had never been very certain of all those pesky dating rules and what pursuing her would mean. She and Fred had dated after the Yule ball but it had never been anything serious or longterm, it had fizzled out after a short while and as he recalled, they had never seemed to fit comfortably as anything more than friends. Besides, as much as he hated to remember it, Fred was gone now. But did that make it even worse in some ways? It was all too confusing, but being around her and stopping himself from staring or touching her was getting to be too difficult and he knew what he had to do.

She had been working there for only five months when he turned to her one day after they had closed up, his expression hard and emotionless.

"Angelina, I need to talk to you."

"Of course. What about?"

Her voice was light and curious and a smile still lingered on her face as he steadied his gaze on her, swallowing hard. "I think you need to leave. Find another job."

Her expression shifted from one of shock, a look of hurt flickering through her eyes before it finally twisted to rage as she found her voice, "You're _firing_ me? Just like that? Listen here, George Weasley, I've been a bloody great employee and-"

"I- I know. When I hired you, you said you only wanted to work part time but you're always here, just as long as I am-"

He was abruptly cut off again as she talked over him, still angry. "You're firing me for working more hours? You don't have anybody else working those hours! I've never once heard you complain about it before."

"I _know_!" He exclaimed, realizing at once he should have expect this to have been more difficult. It was Angelina Johnson, after all. "Look, I've seen the letters from the Arrows you keep trying to take from the post before I get to it. I know you could go play for them. You don't need to be here, but you are. I can handle it on my own, I'll be okay. I don't want you to feel obligated to be here. I'm not going to let you hold yourself back."

She grew quiet, her eyes shifting to the floor beneath them as she took a breath. "I just thought you'd need someone here with you. Besides, I like working here with you, George. I don't care about the sodding Arrows; I've been rejecting them long before I came here. I want to be here. I'm going to stay here."

"I did need someone. You being here helped me out a lot." He agreed with a sigh. He was exhausted. He didn't want to fight with Angelina, he didn't want to ever let her go, but it was for the best. For both of them. "It's just too hard now. Being around you is _hard_, resisting the urge to touch you- I can't keep doing it. I don't know how it happened or why, but I can't stop thinking about you, even when you aren't here and I can't keep fighting it off."

"What are you saying, George?"

She'd somehow stepped up to him without him even noticing, her eyes locked on his as her soft hands found his larger ones in a loose grip, her dark eyes searching his for an answer.

His breath caught in his throat as he gazed down at her and he knew that he only had two choices now. He could either walk away or keep going, and for the first time in his life he was worried about regrets and consequences. He was worried about hating himself forever either way, about the what-if's if he left her there alone tonight. So he pushed these thoughts away and did what he had done for his entire life up to that point and he didn't think. Instead, he acted.

Their lips met in what was a somewhat clumsy kiss, their noses bumping awkwardly and for a split second he thought that perhaps he had made a very big mistake as they both pulled back a bit. Then, she was giggling and he was laughing as well as their failed attempt at a first kiss and he knew it was perfect as he leaned in again to kiss her, a hand resting on her cheek (her skin was even softer than it looked) as they pressed their mouths together in a perfect fit this time around. The world around them seemed to melt into nothing and it was just them, kissing slowly at first and then deepening the kiss, his tongue brushing lightly against hers as he memorized the feel and taste of her mouth. He wasn't sure how long they had spent kissing by the time they finally broke apart, but it didn't matter. She looked like she often did after Quidditch practice, catching her breath with excitement in her eyes.

She was beautiful inside and out, and he had no idea how he had gone so long without kissing her or even noticing her. "I don't want you to leave." He said quickly, recalling the conversation they had just had.

"I told you, I'm not going anywhere. Even if you did want me to."

"Good."

"Good."

"So I'll see you tomorrow, then?"

"First thing in the morning." She confirmed in a whisper seconds before their lips met again.


End file.
